Sebastian Reikengarder
"The Maker smiles sadly on his Grey Wardens, so the Chantry says, as no sacrifice is greater than theirs." '''Sebastian '''is a human Grey Warden born 18 years before the events of the Fifth Blight. She is characterized by an oppressive, brooding personality, and skill in both horse-riding and swordsmanship. Appearance Sebastian’s visage is a tired one, constantly neutral and fending off outwardly negative expression. Her hair is short, though it is unkempt. Equipment Longsword A double-edged sword formed with a cruciform hilt with a grip for two-handed use. There are no special markings on this weapon. More than anything else, it is a symbol of brotherhood with her Grey Warden allies. Grey Warden Armour Silver-grey half-plate with a blue-painted mail-shirt underneath. Tossed over the right shoulder is a crimson silk cloth that extends across the body and down the rear-legs, tied to a purple half-cape. Compass An instrument used for navigation and orientation that shows direction relative to the geographic cardinal directions. The significance of this item is currently unknown. Personality Sebastian is brooding, and oppressive in social situations. She is charitable, though would go to lengths to assure she is not put in such a compromising position. Resentful, she does not forget misdeeds done against her or her fellows. A truth-seeker and something of a justiciar, she would put herself and regrettably others into danger to dispense justice of it were to be given. Likes & Dislikes The sound of the harp, lute, and drum are beloved. She appreciates painting & illustration, though would not pick up the practice. Dwarves are prefered travelling companions. The Grey Wardens are held sacred, as is the worship of Andraste. On the other hand, Sebastian islikes Chasind, Orlesians are hated. Wary of mages. Abhors the Darkspawn and their blight. History Birth (9:12 Dragon) Sebastian was born in 9:12 Dragon, as a bastard child of a minorly influential Bann operating outside of Edgehall, and a courtier. Political suicide in the eyes of an ambitious man, the courtier was silently murdered and the bastard was to be brought to the nearby Lake Calenhad to be peacefully drowned. As luck or perhaps misluck would have, down-and-out mercenaries who had been roaming, thieving, came across the doomed ‘caravan’ as it passed an unremarkable town on the Imperial Highway, and took it’s contents with a hard struggle. Among the goods, which had been soap, bread, paper, and milk, there was a silent infant, diligently staring. The story thus far wasn't so much a tragedy to this group of sellswords, as it was a comedy that aligned with their stereotypes of nobility, and for their humour the young child was taken along with the caravan’s loot. Childhood & Adolescence (9:18-9:30 Dragon) Childhood would be spent from town to town, forest to forest, learning how to ride horseback and how to wield a sword. The now named ‘Sebastian’ would be expected to earn her stay from the age she could relay verbal commands, including surviving in whatever warzone the mercenary company would be deployed to. Living, assumedly, only by the will of Andraste, Sebastian reached adolescence and began taking an interest in the history of her homeland; for all of the skirmishes that were fought, the company had never left Fereldan. While fulfillment came from this minor education, the woe of war caught up. Already becoming obsolete in an era of relative peace between factions, mercenary living worsened, and such changes brought about extremes within the group. The size of the company would be split in half during a single night, a single bloody act of craven-betrayal, in which Sebastian was wounded and left behind somewhere in the Brecilian Forest. Sebastian would have gladly surrendered to death, had it not been for the dagger-incision that forbid any chance for a peaceful death. Staggering though on her feet, she struggled to the outskirts, following no particular route or path. Only by chance did Sebastian escape to the embrace of passing roadside Knights. The next three years would be spent in service to these Knights, not as a warrior, but rather an unofficial squire who did everything from bearing shields to tending to mounts. These three years refined the raw skill that had been forged many years ago, and in 9:30 Dragon, it became essential. The Fifth Blight (9:30-9:31 Dragon) Sebastian’s first encounter with the Darkspawn was near abandoned Dwarven ruins, previously purposefully blockaded but seemingly ripped open from the inside. Exploration was a mistake, one that took the noble lives of Sebastian’s knighted Lords. Not foolish enough to fight to the death against such mythological monsters, she fled on horseback, stopping periodically only so that her steed may rest. Terrified of the horrors, she sought refuge in a town she never implored the name of. The town was situated right next to the Imperial Highway. She took great comfort in this, having heard of her origins and the remarkable accuracy of the nearby town’s description, and so she remained, mostly involving herself in grim worship inside of the village’s Chantry. It was here that she developed a greater understanding of the Chant of Light, and grew a stronger connection to the Andrastian faith. So, when her nightmares came again to this forsaken village, she did not blame her deity that had truly turned away from them, as was preached night and day. These Darkspawn were met with futile resistance, but not from Sebastian. She had an advantage where other refugees did not: the horse. Faster, harder, she escaped the burning village and it’s residents’ assailants, only able to swear meager revenge. Most of the year-long war was fought like this, fleeing from field to field where she had been raised to try to die on each one. As stories are whispered from ear to ear, soon enough Sebastian would hear of an assembled force marching toward Denerim. Almost entirely consumed by fear still, she almost did not join the ranks of this combined-arms militant force, only swayed by a regrettable need to fight that reverberated like withdrawal ever since that night in the Brecilian Forests; no noble cause was needed. Aftermath Of The Fifth Blight (9:31 Dragon) On the day of the blight’s end, moreso the day of the coronation of King Alistar, Sebastian rode west for her birth-home. When she came upon it, and it was standing despite it’s wear, she cursed. For such bad fortune had befallen better places, and this house stood. So, she called for the Lord of the bannorn, and when he came to meet the stranger who had hailed him, Sebastian killed him, openly. The last thread keeping Sebastian confined to the horrors of the past had been severed, and there was no retaliation to being draped in chains and made prisoner under the charges of assassination. Perhaps it was the need to swell their near-empty ranks, or because of her experience with the arch-enemy, or because Andraste had not yet tired of her game, but Sebastian was relieved of imprisonment under the Right of Conscription. Indeed, though Sebastian had carved a new life from blood, it would not end before it could begin again. She did not protest this act. The Grey Wardens (9:31-9:41 Dragon) Sebastian became a Grey Warden in 9:31 Dragon, the only aspirant to survive the ritualistic joining. She would join others of Fereldan’s Grey Wardens in hunting and exterminating surviving Darkspawn from wherever they roamed, and found true purpose in this, although the common sight of Orlesians during these hunts, though Grey Wardens, brought no smile to her face. Sebastian continued to serve with the Grey Wardens of Fereldan through the years, fighting where they fought, going where they went; no cause was more just. The Adamant Uprising (9:41 Dragon) Sebastian, though remarkably prejudice toward Orlesians of all sorts, felt distraught sadness for the Orlesian Grey Wardens all simultaneously falling to their common curse. Hysteria was king, and Sebastian was no exception. She too answered the rallying cry for Orlais, and when the plan came to use blood magic to kill the Old Gods while they slumbered, she did not protest. She hungered for the opportunity even. Craved it. Yes, she joined the Grey Wardens’ uprising, standing by her comrades against all other powers. Over time, as the truth became clearer, Sebastian’s heart grew darker but her alignment did not change, and when the Inquisition came to Adamant Fortress, she slew many a noble man for the sake of her convictions. When the fighting ceased and the truth was brought to life, her suspicions were laid out, and only overbearing shame existed within her. For the rest of the Inquisition’s scouring across Thedas, she would not be at the side of her lieges, instead embarking on a solo crusade of penitence, though she would return in due time to tend to her wounds in combat against Fen'harel servants.